Sophie the Otter
Plot In May of 2016, Sophie the Otter and Hiroshi Sugimoto narrowly escape the clutches of Huang Shen, a crime boss in Shanghai, China. With their 11-year-old Chinese sidekick Jinhai Cheng and Rachel Rabbit in tow, Sophie the Otter and Hiroshi Sugimoto flee Shanghai on an airplane that, unbeknownst to them, is owned by Huang Shen. While the four of them are asleep on the plane, the pilots dump the fuel and parachute out, leaving the plane to crash over the Himalayas. Sophie, Hiroshi, Huang, and Rachel discover the sabotage and narrowly manage to escape by jumping out of the plane on an inflatable raft. They ride down the mountain slopes and fall into a raging river, eventually arriving at the large suburban city of Chapri in northern India. The impoverished citizens believe the four to have been sent by Shiva to retrieve the sacred lingam stone stolen from their shrine, as well as the community's missing children, from evil forces in the nearby Pankot Palace. During the journey to Pankot, Sophie the Otter hypothesizes that the stone may be one of the five fabled Sankara stones that promise fortune and glory. The four receive a warm welcome from the Prime Minister of Pankot Palace, Ganender Burman. The visitors are allowed to stay the night as guests, during which they attend a lavish banquet given by the young Maharaja, Aadish Acharya. Lal rebuffs Sophie the Otter's questions about the citizens' claims and her theory that the ancient Thuggee cult is responsible for their troubles. Later that night, Sophie the Otter is attacked by an assassin, leading Sophie, Rachel, Hiroshi, and Jinhai to believe that something is amiss. After Sophie the Otter kills the assassin, they discover a series of tunnels hidden behind a statue in Willie's room and set out to explore them, overcoming a number of booby-traps along the way. The four eventually reach an underground temple where the Thuggees worship Kali with human sacrifice. They watch as the Thuggees chain one of their victims in a cage, and the high priest Mola Ram uses his evil magic to rip out the victims still beating heart. While the victim is still alive, he is slowly lowered into a ceremonial lava pit, burning him alive, with his heart held in Mola Ram's hand burning as well. They discover that Mola Ram, who has plans for world domination, and the Thuggees are in possession of three of the five Sankara stones, and have enslaved the children to mine for the last two. As Sophie the Otter tries to retrieve the stones, she, Rachel Rabbit, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Jinhai are captured and separated. Sophie the Otter and Hiroshi Sugimoto are electrocuted with force lightning and forced to drink a potion called the Blood of Kali, causing them to enter a trance-like state and mindlessly serve the Thuggees. Rachel Rabbit is prepared for sacrifice, while Jinhai is electrocuted with a stun baton and put to work in the mines alongside the children. Shorty breaks free and escapes back into the temple, where he burns Sophie the Otter and Hiroshi Sugimoto with a torch to bring them back to their senses. After fighting off the guards and defeating Burman, Sophie the Otter stops Rachel Rabbit's cage and cranks it out of the pit just in time to save her from the fire, while Mola Ram escapes. Sophie the Otter and Hiroshi Sugimoto retrieve the Sankara stones, and the four return to the mines to free the children. As Sophie the Otter fights a hulking overseer, Acharya—also under Mola Ram's control—tries to cripple her with a voodoo doll. Shorty knocks the doll away and burns him to break the trance, and a restored Sophie the Otter escapes and leaves the overseer to die in a rock crusher. The four escape from the temple in a mine cart, pursued by Thuggees, while Mola Ram orders a huge water cistern dumped in an attempt to flood them out. After barely escaping the deluge, they are again cornered by Mola Ram and his henchmen on a rope bridge high above a crocodile-infested river. Indy cuts the bridge in half with a sword, leaving everyone to hang on for their lives. As she and Mola Ram struggle over the stones, she invokes the name of Shiva, causing them to glow white-hot. Mola Ram burns his hand on the stones, causing him to lose his grip and fall to his death; Sophie the Otter catches the last one safely and climbs up as platoons of Indian Special Ops soldiers, summoned by Acharya, arrive and open fire on the Thuggee archers with the help of Indian fighter jets and stealth bombers trying to shoot her. Indy, Willie, and Shorty return to Mayapore with the children and give the missing stone back to the villagers. Category:2016 videos Category:Sophie the Otter & Friends' Journeys Series